“As a girl, encountering such a coach has made countless people doubt your integrity. Now you shamelessly blow up the matter so big. Don’t you care about your family’s reputation? Can your younger brother and sister still hold their heads high when they go out?”

Yoon Mijung received a slap from her mother.

Many people thought she was wrong and ordered her to stop what she was doing. The Korean Skating Federation also considered her the most disgraceful and tactless part of this incident.

But how could she give up? Her brother, Liu Mengcheng, suffered such a great injury. Moreover, his family’s attitude was the same as her parents. If she left Liu Mengcheng at this time, what would he do?

She was the one who persuaded Liu Mengcheng to resist, so she also had a responsibility in this matter. She couldn’t give up her partner!

But they were running out of money. Although Yoon Mijung had prize money from figure skating and some sponsorship fees earned earlier for being good-looking, this money had to be used for hiring a lawyer. The remaining amount was only enough for them to eat and stay in a small hotel, without guaranteed safety.

Since the incident broke out, they had been hounded by reporters for a long time.

Due to the withdrawal from the competition, they had to check out of the hotel. When she went to pick up Liu Mengcheng, she had no idea where to go next. The two teenagers stood in the corridor with their suitcases, feeling lost both physically and mentally.

Families that could afford figure skating training wouldn’t be too poor. Until this incident happened, Yoon Mijung considered her life to be quite smooth. She was pretty, had outstanding athletic talent, excellent grades, and a gentle and caring older brother as her partner. But now, she just felt helpless.

Liu Mengcheng took her hand and walked into the stairwell. The two sat side by side on the steps. After a while, he whispered: “Mijung, go home. I’ll go home too, and then we withdraw the lawsuit. I’ll go back to my hometown to study, and you can return to your old life.”

The stubborn girl shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes.

“No, that beast hurt you so much; we must send him to prison. Otherwise, he won’t let us go!”

They embraced each other, relying only on each other in this world.

After a while, they heard the sound of a rope hitting the ground, a sound they were very familiar with—the sound of figure skaters jumping rope.

Yoon Mijung wiped her eyes and quietly walked over. From the crack in the door, she saw Chinese men’s singles skater Zhang Jue jumping double unders in the corridor.

Liu Mengcheng also knew this kid because he was too handsome. In these times, everyone liked good-looking people, especially in figure skating. The beast had sighed before, wondering why this athlete, who was both good-looking and talented, wasn’t born in Korea.

At that time, Liu Mengcheng only had one thought in his mind: fortunately, Zhang Jue wasn’t born in Korea. It was said that the kid’s coach was his uncle. He must be well-protected and wouldn’t encounter such terrible things.

The sound of jumping rope stopped, and the kid suddenly turned around. The three pairs of eyes met in the air.

He sensed their gaze!

This eye contact lasted for a few seconds, and the kid known as Little Crocodile waved.

“Come here.”

He turned around, used the room card to open the door, and Yoon Mijung and Liu Mengcheng hesitated for a long time before walking over. Then, they were led into the room. Little Crocodile turned on the indoor heating, moved the chairs to the corner, laid out the blanket on the floor, and placed two crocodile plush toys on it.

This kid had many crocodile plush toys. There was a large snakeskin bag next to the suitcase, filled with little crocodiles. The TV was on, playing Korean cartoons. It was unclear if the other party understood or not, according to Brother Shu, the kid’s foreign language skills were poor. Zhang Jue’s intention to help them, despite the language barrier, almost brought tears to Yoon Mijung’s eyes.

Although they couldn’t communicate verbally, Yoon Mijung understood the kid’s meaning.

“Sit.”

The child took three apples to wash, and his digestive system was good. If he didn’t fill his stomach with something before going to bed, he would wake up hungry with green eyes. Coincidentally, those two kids didn’t look like they had eaten much.

Zhang Jue also knew that he was being too soft. In his previous life, he heard that these two kids had nowhere to go for half a month and could only borrow places to stay from their former teammates and classmates. However, the harassment by entertainment reporters made them have to constantly change places. Until half a month later, their parents had to bring them back home under the pressure of public opinion.

But later, the coach’s wife and son came to cause trouble, and to avoid causing trouble to their families, they went to live in Busan. If it weren’t for the financial assistance from the lawyer who helped them sue, the two children would almost not finish high school. However, they were also very stubborn. After Liu Mengcheng finished high school, he worked everywhere to support Yoon Mijung to complete her high school studies and they didn’t return home.

For underage individuals, such an experience was quite tragic, and it’s unclear how they managed to endure it.

But if they were to get a new room, the hotel lobby would likely have some unscrupulous reporters waiting, and the room number probably wouldn’t be kept confidential. It was better to let them make do with his place.

In Zhang Jue’s memory, if he didn’t care about this unfortunate pair, Choi Jung-soo would have taken them to his room. Later, he would have been severely warned by the Korean Skating Federation for this, and if it weren’t for the lack of skaters in the Korean men’s singles category, Choi Jung-soo would have been close to being banned.

This incident seemed to be related to the connections of that beastly coach, but Zhang Jue was Chinese so he wasn’t afraid to offend anyone. It would be more suitable for him to help out with this favor.

A faint cry came from outside the door, and Zhang Jue silently turned the faucet to the maximum.

He muttered to himself: “I’m really too meddlesome. I’ve let go of those bullies who bullied classmates, but it’s not easy abroad either.”

If his old uncle found out about this, he would probably scold him again for being too kind-hearted.

After washing the apples for 10 minutes, Zhang Jue finally handed the apples, which were almost peeled by water, to the guests. Oranges didn’t need washing, and when Shen Liu brought cherries and strawberries, he had already made it clear that they were washed. Zhang Jue found some preserved yams from his collection and shared dinner with the two unfortunate individuals.

After that, it was time to turn off the lights and sleep. It didn’t matter if the blankets were laid on the floor; they had down jackets in their suitcases to cover themselves.

Zhang Jue felt that these two kids were quite easygoing. Clearly, in an unfamiliar environment, they fell asleep even faster than him, who was lying on his back, contemplating. By the time he was still staring at the ceiling, the breath of the two on the floor had already become steady.

In the eyes of Yoon Mijung and Liu Mengcheng, Zhang Jue, who dared to take them in, was also a child without much guardedness. Although he looked like an elementary school student, he wasn’t afraid of them doing anything to him.

What they didn’t know was that all the chairs in this room were foldable, and Zhang Jue could easily grab a weapon, making it naturally secure.

The next day, Zhang Jue left the room at six-thirty. When Choi Jung-soo finished breakfast, he saw Zhang Jue, Ilya, Hayato Teraoka, Alex, and Juventus Bratov standing at his door.

Zhang Jue gave him a sweet smile, saying: “Shall we talk?”

…

Yoon Mijung woke up at nine in the morning. The Little Crocodile was sitting cross-legged on the bed, writing or drawing something with a pen. There were several sandwiches on the coffee table, and Liu Mengcheng was coming out of the bathroom.

The TV was still on, playing a morning drama with the volume not too loud. Although Zhang Jue couldn’t understand Korean, watching the actors slap each other was quite interesting.

Korean drama actors were very competitive, especially the morning drama actors. The slaps were particularly solid, clearly indicating real physical contact, making it quite admirable.

Little Crocodile said to them: “Let’s have breakfast first, and then we’ll talk.”

Firstly, it’s fortunate that Liu Mengcheng’s English was exceptionally good, both in spoken language, listening, and writing at a professional level. Yoon Mijung was the same. So, even if Zhang Jue’s listening skills were a bit lacking, he could still communicate with them through simple spoken language, gestures, and writing.

Zhang Jue first asked them how much money they had.

Yoon Mijung lowered her head, embarrassed, and replied: “Mengcheng and I, together, have about 200,000 won.”

Twenty thousand won is roughly equivalent to 1,200 RMB. Calculating more precisely, it’s 1,188 RMB. In a place like South Korea, where the cost of living is relatively high, these two indeed had very little money. No wonder there were rumors that they borrowed money from Choi Jung-soo to hire a lawyer.

Zhang Jue once again sighed in his heart that Choi Jung-soo was a rare good person, but unfortunately, he was severely exploited by the Korean Skating Federation. There was even a time when he had an injury but was forced to participate in the national competition, or else they wouldn’t have given him a competition slot.

In other major figure skating countries, such arrangements would be understandable. However, in the figure skating desert that is South Korea, Choi Jung-soo was one of the few male singles skaters they could be proud of. However due to the internal struggles within the Korean Skating Federation, he continued to wear down his body and retired early at the age of 22. It’s rather tragic, considering that the golden age for male singles is typically between 19 and 23 years old when their skills and artistry are relatively mature, and their bodies are still relatively young and healthy – the perfect age to strive for the world’s top.

After retiring, Choi Jung-soo went to North America to become a coach, probably unable to bear it here anylonger.

Zhang Jue tilted his head, blinked his clear big eyes, and asked another question.

“So, you don’t have money to hire a lawyer, right?”

Yoon Mijung looked embarrassed: “Yes.”

Liu Mengcheng held her hand, hesitated, and Yoon Mijung placed her palm on the back of his hand.

Zhang Jue cleared his throat: “I remember there’s a lawyer organization in Busan. Sometimes they voluntarily help people in difficult situations like yours. If you seek legal assistance from them, the fees will be very cheap, and their professional level is high. Even as a foreigner like me, I’ve heard of their reputation.”

In Zhang Jue’s previous life, a lawyer from this organization help Liu Mengcheng with his lawsuit. Although he was only sentenced to six years, he at least won against the lawyer hired by the other party. Later, that lawyer also sponsored their high school education. This might be the reason why they chose to open a fried chicken shop in Busan.

Compared to other cities, Busan probably gave them a greater sense of security.

“As for money, I have some here.”

Saying that Zhang Jue pulled his backpack and took out a paper bag from inside.

His savings card had the UnionPay logo, so he could withdraw money from foreign ATMs, as long as it didn’t exceed $10,000.

Although Zhang Jue wasn’t wealthy, he had received a year’s provincial team allowance, and since he rarely spent money, he had managed to save up 20,000. Adding the competition prize money, which was directly deposited into his account, he now had a total of 50,000.

#Ten thousand bitcoins won’t shine until 2017.#

Zhang Jue brought out his entire wealth, equivalent to 840,000 in Korean won. The largest denomination of Korean won bills was 50,000, which meant 168 banknotes. Zhang Jue put them all in this paper bag.

“This money should be enough for your living expenses in Busan. Ilya, Hayato, Alex, and Juventus said they would donate money. When I will return to China, they will transfer the money to Choi Jung-soo’s account, and he will pass it on to you. Win this lawsuit and make that beast pay the price.”

“If you feel uneasy about taking this money, I will provide you with the list of donors and their accounts later. You can repay it when you’re adults. Consider it as us giving you a zero-interest loan together.”

Looking at their stunned expressions, Zhang Jue smiled: “Choi Jung-soo’s coach and your coach are good friends, so he can only secretly go out at night to buy tickets to Busan for you. Until then, stay here with me. I won’t pull out the room card, the heating will be on all the time, and I’ve already refused the cleaning staff. Lunch will be delivered on time.”

“Don’t be afraid, everything will be fine.”

Don’t be afraid, now more people are reaching out to help you, you will definitely win the case, then start a new life without so much hardship.

After finishing this matter, Zhang Jue put on his coat, grabbed his ice skates, and went to the rink for practice.

The competition was in the afternoon, and it was his last practice session. He had to make sure he was in top condition during this time.

When entering the arena, Zhang Jue noticed the glances of some young men’s singles skaters on him.

Zhang Jue sat on a horizontal bench, holding a water bottle. Unconsciously, a few young men’s singles skaters walked to him and sat down.

How to describe this feeling? It’s like several kids teaming up to do a good deed, and they are all trying hard to keep it a secret from the media to protect the two unfortunate ones. Still, they can’t help but be concerned about this matter.

Zhang Jue calmly changed his shoes, looked up at them, and smiled brightly, squinting his eyes.

“Let’s cheer each other on in the afternoon’s competition. This time, don’t make any mistakes again, or I won’t have any suspense in winning.”

Upon hearing this, Hayato Teraoka expression immediately sharpened, and he punched Zhang Jue.

“Wait for me to beat you, little kid.”

Then Ilya stood up and patted him on the head, saying: “The winner will be me. You can think about winning the championship after I move up a grade, elementary schooler.”

Yeah, Ilya’s English was still incomprehensible, but Zhang Jue knew he was also declaring: “The winner will definitely be me.”

Alex came over, treating Zhang Jue with an expression as if he had seen a cute puppy, couldn’t help but pat Zhang Jue’s head with an affectionate force.

Juventus Bratov gave Zhang Jue a thumbs up and said: “I really like you, Little Crocodile.”

In the afternoon, at 16:20 Seoul time, the Figure Skating World Junior Championships men’s singles free skate officially kicked off in Jeongseon City.

As Zhang Jue was the first in the short program, he would be the last to perform. Just as he finished eating a banana and started warming up, Sergei, who was supposed to be guest-performing and had just skated, rushed over. He peeked inside, walked in front of Ilya, and tapped his head.

The others were puzzled by his actions, and Zhang Jue instinctively went to find a folding chair.

After all, they had all helped their unfortunate companions together. In case Sergei wanted to unreasonably bully the minors, Zhang Jue would definitely help Ilya.

Zhang Jue found his target under Song Cheng’s buttocks.

At this moment, Vasily also came in, tapped Ilya’s head, and after being tapped twice in a row, Ilya was both puzzled and resentful.

“Why are you hitting me? This is our junior team’s warm-up room. You should leave! Otherwise, I’ll tell the coach!”

Vasily chuckled, pulled the young man out, and Zhang Jue perked up his ears, listening to the commotion outside.

After a while, Ilya, with a disheveled appearance, came over and sat next to Zhang Jue, crossing his legs, lowering his voice.

“They asked me for Choi Jung-soo’s account number.”

Zhang Jue: “What did you say?”

Hayato Teraoka sighed, walked over, patted Ilya’s shoulder, and said in English: “Repeat what you said, and I’ll translate it for Tama-chan.”

Ilya made an annoyed cat expression, mumbling a string of Russian in his mouth that no one else could understand.

Zhang Jue understood Hayato Teraoka english and asked curiously: “Who is Tama-chan? The pronunciation of ‘tama’ is easily associated with the not-so-polite term ‘your mother’ in Chinese. I wonder who gave such an unlucky name.”

Hayato Teraoka looked embarrassed.

 

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